Capitalism Case

Tristan Walker is the Director of Business Development for Foursquare, Foursquare is a mobile social application that mixes social, location and gaming elements to encourage users to explore cities where they've lived or visited, and reward them with points and badges for doing so. Tristan graduated as valedictorian with a BA degree in Economics from Stony Brook University. He also has a MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Tristan grew up in Queens N.Y., in a single-parent home. He would always joke around about his one and only goal is to be as wealthy as possible, as quickly as possible.

Then he went on Wall Street. He worked Wall Street as an oil-futures trader. While working for Wall Street Tristan felt like he was the victim of bad culture, and after realizing that he wanted to create a better culture. "Working on Wall Street helped me realize what I didn't want," said Walker. And that's really where he got the idea of entrepreneurship. Got an internship at Twitter, and began networking sending personal emails to the founders of Foursquare Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. That led him to his formal job at Foursquare; he'll take on the new role of entrepreneur-in-residence at the fabled venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has invested in companies the likes of Zynga, Jawbone and Airbnb.

He has led partnership efforts with various media entities and large retailers, including Bravo, MTV, CNN, New York Times, NBA and Starbucks. Tristan was also featured in The Hollywood Reporter's Digital Power Top 50 list for 2010. Walker's new venture is the not-for-profit Code 2040, a program he founded that matches high performing Black and Latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups for summer internships, and also provides them with the insight, networks and support to ensure their successful participation in the high tech innovation economy.

Seth Harber

Author: Jeff Watson

Schumpeter Category: Product- Higher Quality,

In Class Classification: Alert Observer

Seth's Hammock story begins after he moved to Colorado in 2001 to take advantage of advantage of the areas numerous recreational opportunities. During his camping trips he was extremely unsatisfied with the traditional sleeping setups available. Seth decided to go into the business of hammock production and after an initial experimentation period, launched Trek Light Gear; a line of hammocks. These hammocks are made from the same nylon used for parachutes; they can hold up to 400 pounds and are also eco-friendly as they do not, like tents, crush plants and leave no wear spots on the ground. Also, he worked with non-profit organizations to plant a tree for every hammock sold. Furthermore, he created a line of reusable bage, Eco Totes, from the waste of his production process. By 2005, as his business grew, Seth decided to quit his current job at a medical company; he would focus his full attention, and full financial security, on his hammock line. As he continues to launch additional product lines, Seth continues to contribute and work with several charities such as clean water organizations, malaria organizations, cancer research, and educational charities.

Mark Zuckerberg

Author: Zhangtao Gu

Schumpeter Category: Product-The introduction of a new good

In Class definition: Risk Taker, Creative Innovator,

Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room on February 4, 2004. An earlier inspiration for Facebook may have come from Phillips Exeter Academy, the prep school from which Zuckerberg graduated in 2002. It published its own student directory, "The Photo Address Book," which students referred to as "The Facebook." Such photo directories were an important part of the student social experience at many private schools. With them, students

...